Odds are the numbers used by online bookmakers to show how likely something is to happen. They give you a quick indication of how much you could expect to win if your bet wins. This guide will introduce you to the world of odds, the different ways they can be used and what they mean to. Betting Odds Explained I How Odds Work The common definition says that odds are the probability for a certain thing to happen. However, things are a little more complex in sports betting with probabilities are expressed through numbers.

“Wait, why does this NFL team have a -235 next to its name? What’s with New England Patriots (-15) vs. Miami Dolphins (+15)? Help! HEEEELPPPP!”

If that sounds like you, we’re here to assist you. If you’ve stared at a board at a sportsbook or just seen spreads and moneylines on the Internet and been utterly confused, don’t worry. It’s not just you. Those numbers can be confounding.

But hopefully, once you’re done reading this, you’ll completely understand how they work. As you prepare to dive into the world of sports betting, here’s a breakdown of how the lines work, starting with …

Spreads

It would be really easy to bet on a game if you could put money on a heavy favorite to win.

That’s where point spreads come in. Let’s look at an example:

Philadelphia Eagles (-4.5)

New York Giants (+4.5)

In this case, you can bet on either two outcomes: you can put money on the Eagles to win the game by 4.5 points OR MORE, which makes them the favorites. Or you can bet that the Giants will either win or lose by LESS THAN 4.5 points. They’re the underdogs.

Now, sometimes the spread “moves” during the days leading up to the game. Perhaps the Eagles’ spread ends up being -3.5 (in which they must win by 3.5 points or more to give you a victory in your bet). Your bet all depends on whichever spread you bet on, whether it was when the Eagles were favored by 4.5 or 3.5 points.

If you ever see “PK” or “pick” next to a team, it means there’s no spread and you can bet on who will win, no matter what the score is.

Moneylines

Let’s take that same example above but use moneylines:

Philadelphia Eagles (-200)

New York Giants (+150)

The team with a minus symbol is the favorite, and the number is how much money you would need to bet to win $100. In this case, you would have to bet $200 on the Eagles in order to win an additional $100.

The Giants are the underdogs. If they’re +150, that means you could bet $100 to win $150.

Note that you can bet any amount you want, but those numbers are always calculated and posted the same way, either in how much money you would need to wager to win $100 or how much money you could win by wagering $100.

Odds

If you’re betting on something like the team who will win the Super Bowl in the future, you might see it look like this:

New England Patriots — 3/1

Baltimore Ravens — 5/1

Kansas City Chiefs — 8/1

If you were betting on the Patriots and their 3/1 odds, you would win $3 for every $1 you spend. So if you bet $50 on the Pats and they ended up winning the Super Bowl, you’d win $150 (plus your original wager) back.

Good luck!

If you’re not familiar with betting on boxing, you might need a little help in having boxing betting odds explained. That’s what we’re here to help with. On this page, we not only explain how to read betting odds, but we also go over how to bet on boxing. At boxing betting odds explained, we go over the most common wager types and the odds associated with them, so that by the time you’re ready to wager on a boxing match, you’ll feel like an expert.

No matter what side of the bout you choose to bet on, remember that anything can happen in boxing. Major underdogs are known to be punching bags for the title holders and favorites but this isn’t always the case. Buster Douglas knocked out Mike Tyson, giving bettors 42 times their money in 1990. More recently, a 33-1 Andy Ruiz Jr. beat Anthony Joshua in a heavyweight championship.

How To Read American Boxing Odds

When it all comes down to it, boxing betting odds are not that different than any other odds. One way to present boxing betting odds is in the standard American format. In this form, fighters will have a number associated with their name. This is their line. When it has a (-) symbol next to it, it shows they are the favorite. When it has the (+), it shows they are the underdog. A number with a (-) symbol denotes how much you would have to pay in order to make $100, while a number with a (+) symbol shows what you stand to gain based on a $100 wager.

• Manny Pacquiao -650
• Jeff Horn +425

In this situation, Pacquiao is favored. This means oddsmakers think he has a better chance to win. If you bet on him, you would have to wager $650 to win $100, if he wins the fight. If you bet on Jeff Horn, you only have to bet $100 to win $425 if he wins the match. This is because he is perceived as “less likely” to win.

Understanding Boxing Betting Odds In Fractional Form

Fractional betting odds are another common way to have a fight’s betting odds presented. Figuring out your payout when odds are in fractional form is pretty simple. The denominator (bottom number) will always show what you have to stake, while the numerator (top number) will denote what you stand to gain. You can tell a competitor is favored when the denominator is higher than the numerator.

• Manny Pacquiao 3/20
• Jeff Horn 17/4

We used the same example from before for continuity. Pacquiao is the favorite in this fight, and you would have to bet $20 just to win $3, or about .15 cents for every $1 wagered. So if you bet $100, your profit would be $15. On the other side of that, Horn is a 17/4 underdog. For every $4 risked, you earn $17, or $4.25 for every $1 wagered. On a $100 risk, you’d gain $425 if Horn were to win.

Fractional and American odds denote the same payout, you just have to calculate it a different way. 3/20 odds are the same as -650 and would earn you the same payout. Most online sports betting sites will allow you to change between the two different types of odds, as well, so you can read a boxing betting line however you’d like.

How Do You Read Betting Odds

There is one more incredibly important thing to remember when it comes to reading boxing betting lines – odds are not a reflection of actual chance. Odds and betting lines are influenced by public opinion more than anything. Oddsmakers will use basic stats to formulate who is more likely to win a match, but after that, the lines move based on how bettors are wagering. So if you do your research and everything you see points to Horn being able to beat Pacquiao, don’t be intimidated by his underdog status. Your ability to read odds and truly understand how they’re formulated can help you win big.

Betting On A Fighter To Win The Fight

This is the simplest way you can bet on a fight. This is a bet on the outright winner of the match, much like a moneyline bet in other sports. This is as straightforward as you can get when betting on boxing. They’re also the most common boxing betting odds. No matter what, a match will at least have odds on who will win the fight, even if there’s no other way to wager on the fight.

Article: How To Wager on Fighters

Boxing Prop Bets Explained

Prop bets are bets made on individual aspects of a match, rather than just on the winner of the fight. So when you bet on props, you have the option to bet on the number of rounds a match will go, who will win in which round, or the method of victory by which they win. Some matches will be very high profile, and on those, you’ll generally find even more props like if the fight will go the distance or how many viewers there will be. Below are the most common boxing prop betting odds, explained.

Round Betting

Sometimes, boxing matches will have rounds betting odds. This means that you can bet on which round you think the fight will be decided in. This allows you to get a little more detailed with the wagers you’re placing. Generally, you’ll have betting odds on each round for each fighter, as well as odds on the match going to a draw or a decision. Rounds betting generally yields a much higher payout but is also a bit trickier to win. If you bet on Fighter A to win in the 12th round and he wins in the 11th, your bet is considered a loss.

Round Group Betting

Betting Or Explained

If rounds betting odds are a little too adventurous for your taste, but you have an approximation of when a fighter will win, try rounds group betting. Odds for these will be assigned to a set of rounds, usually in groups of three. Betting on a rounds group yields less of a payout than just a regular round betting, but in exchange is easier to win. Betting on Fighter A to win in the 10th-12th gives you three chances to win your bet. It’s like a little safety cushion when betting on boxing.

Betting On The Fight Outcome

When betting on boxing, you will more than likely see lines on the fight outcome. This is a general way to wager on how the fight will end, and only has five options. Each fighter will be given odds to win by knockout, technical knockout, or disqualification. Each fighter will be given odds to win by decision or technical decision, and the match will be given odds to end in a draw or technical draw.

Total Rounds

Boxing totals are pretty much the same as any other betting totals, but instead of points, you’re betting on the total number of rounds the match will last. For fights that seem to be more one-sided, oddsmakers will probably favor the under, as the underdog probably won’t be able to keep up. A more even fight might see the over favored. Boxing totals betting odds can be found alongside prop bets at most sportsbooks. A subset of a total rounds bet is betting on whether the fight will go the distance. This is offered much less often, so you shouldn’t expect to see it on every fight. It’s a yes or no proposition bet, wherein you bet on whether or not the fight will last through every round.

Parlays

When you are betting on boxing, you can create a parlay card. When you wager on a parlay card, you can generally combine anywhere from 2-15 different wagers on a single card. Doing so makes the payout much more appealing than a whole bunch of singular bets. However, parlay bets are incredibly hard to win. If you’re wrong on even a single element of a parlay card, your entire bet is considered a loss.

If you do decide to create a boxing parlay bet, it will have to be a parlay card made of moneyline bets. Sportsbooks won’t create a boxing parlay with prop bets due in large part to wagering limits. So if you are ready to watch a match and like all of the fights on the card leading up to the main event, you can create a small or large parlay of all the fights to try and win a nice sum of money.

Live Betting On Boxing

While you are able to bet on boxing events before they begin, you are also able to wager of them once they have heard the first bell. With live betting, bettors can see updated odds as each second of the clock ticks off. Live betting can be tricky in boxing, as the favorite who seems to be winning can get knocked out the second after you place your wager. However, with other prop bets available, it creates more entertainment on top of the actual fight.

Bovada Sportsbook - Betting Options For Boxing on Bovada

A lot of time players get on their Bovada account and already know what they plan to bet on. The boxing fans know that they can log on to their account and find all kinds of prop bets on any match. This is why players make sure to tell others that they should join Bovada. Players also have a lot of bonuses that could make then bets even better and have them play with more money. The biggest deal here is the fact that the banking methods are also there as well for players to pick and choose from. When you know once you log into your betting account that you have a good chance to make money, your confidence in your bets goes up.

SportsBetting Sportsbook - Boxing Huge on SportsBetting

To get things started, when it comes to SportsBetting, there is not one thing bettors can’t find on this online sportsbook. All the sports that can be bet on are on SportsBetting and that includes boxing which is one sport that is known for having a lot of bettors in every match. All players have to be is 18 and older to sign up for an account here and things will be all good moving forward. Profiting is the goal so when it comes to betting on boxing matches, there are many of those prop bets here on SportsBetting. There is no reason that boxing fans should be broke when having an account with SportsBetting.

BetOnline Sportsbook - BetOnline Has Boxing As A Betting Option

BetOnline is clearly the best online sportsbook here for all the big-time exotic bettors. The reason for this is there are all the things that you need here when it comes to betting and most of the time you know that when you log in that money is going to be made on BetOnline. Boxing matches will always be on BetOnline and plenty of fans will be ready to make major bets as soon as these matches show up on BetOnline. The bonuses that are offered are also here for players who like to bet on boxing as well. Already knowing that you have some money in your account ready to bet, the bonuses here are going to help players have more money as well. Checkout BetOnline and see what it brings for all players all around.

MyBookie Sportsbook - Top Sportsbook For Boxing Fans

The main thing that MyBookie has for players to bet on is all sports. The NFL and NBA are the premier sports that many players like to bet on and put big money on these games all the time. Even with that being said, boxing matches are still one of the options that players take a glance at once they long in. The number one thing that players look for when they log in is bets to where they can make a lot of money and when it comes to boxing matches, these things can end quickly and end up with a huge payout to players. The mobile betting options are here as well as having great banking methods. All bettors have to be is 18 and older to sign up for an account. Soon as players log in another thing that will pop up for them is bonuses that could change their bank account number and help what prop bets they take on these boxing matches. MyBookie is the best sportsbooks with boxing available and there is no question about it.